PMP in major update

PMP will soon be rebranded as Ovato, as part of a shake up that will see it also install an 80pp manroland Lithoman press in the new year.

The company had taken heavy hits to its share price when its expected EBITDA was revised twice throughout the financial year, coinciding with the early exit of long-time CEO Peter George.

During the company’s AGM, its chairman pointed to the three-month delayed ACCC approval leading to a shorter time-frame to integrate with IPMG, meaning planned efficiencies were not achieved.

Kevin Slaven, CEO, PMP, says, “As a business we have drawn a line in the sand.

“Our rebranding [to Ovato] is not a simple change of name for the sake of changing a name. It is based on the rationale that the value of bringing our businesses together is significant, that we need to signal a significant evolution of the business, and to better present the impact we already have, and are building, in data and technology.

“We have had some significant customer wins during the year and the renewal of many existing major customer contracts. We have won or re-signed some large customers with a bundled offering of print and distribution. We have a unique selling proposition as the only company in Australia and New Zealand with a national footprint providing co-located print and distribution delivering freight efficiencies, and speed to market for customers.”

Matthew Bickford-Smith, chairman, PMP, says, “PMP is now investing in a new $20m 80-page pres to further reduce our cost base. This will allow older and inefficient presses to be permanently retired, reduce overall print capacity within the Australian print market and to better manage demand and significantly reduce underlying manufacturing costs.”

“PMP’s FY18 results fell significantly short of original expectations. After forecasting earnings of $70m EBITDA we ended the year at $40.6m, which obviously was completely unacceptable.

“At the group level, on a like-for-like basis, sales dropped by $108m, largely due to falling heatset sales after the loss of Coles and Pacific Magazines, but also reflecting the market’s ongoing reductions in newspaper and magazine sales, and the consequences of lower pricing.”

The company says with the integration now complete, it is well-positioned to focus on stability, with a focus on using data to drive campaigns.

Bickford-Smith says, “Management, under Kevin Slaven, knows exactly what has to happen to PMP’s cost structure over time and there are encouraging signs that the work done over the last six months in genuinely beginning to take hold, translating to significant reductions in the cost per tonne of production.”

Despite a poor performance in the financial year, PMP picked up multiple wins at the Australian Catalogue Association awards, including top prizes for its younger, upcoming talent.